SMS Revenues And Volumes Will Peak In 2003 And Stagnate In 2004, Says Forrester
SMS text messages currently account for 12% of European mobile operators’ revenues and this revenue will peak next year, according to a new report from Forrester Research.
“Mobile operators are right to exploit SMS’ full potential now,” said Forrester analyst Michelle de Lussanet. “Forrester’s five-year forecast for mobile messaging shows that SMS revenue will peak next year – SMS traffic volumes will stagnate in 2004, and effective price per SMS will fall sharply.”
In 2007, Forrester forecasts SMS revenues will represent 47% of total mobile messaging revenues, multimedia messaging (MMS) will bring in 32%; mobile instant messaging (IM) 10%; mobile email 9% and enhanced message service (EMS) 3%.
SMS traffic will rise to 11.5 billion messages per month in 2004, a 14% gain on 2001. But as other message formats – including EMS, MMS, IM, and email – take hold in 2004, substitution will begin and SMS volumes will drop off, says the report.
In 2007, volumes will slow to 11.1 billion messages per month – still 10 percent more than in 2002.
